Perspective: Hold all schools accountable

Posted: February 26, 2013 - 11:48pm

The following editorial appeared in the Sun Sentinel on Tuesday:

When it comes to school vouchers, we haven’t always seen eye-to-eye with Gov. Rick Scott.

But in his 2013 legislative wish list, Scott has struck a more reasonable tone, saying private schools that accept money under the state’s limited voucher program should take the same standardized tests that public schools use to assess students.

He’s right. Private schools that receive taxpayer dollars should be held accountable for performance, just like public schools.

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We’ve been supporters of the state’s Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program, which provides low-income children with the opportunity to attend private school.

Christened in 2001, the program provides vouchers — worth up to $4,335 — to students who qualify for free or reduced-priced lunches. Funding comes from corporate kick-ins, which receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit.

But we also believe in accountability when public money is funneled into private hands. Other states already recognize the wisdom of judging students by the same yardstick.

With Florida preparing to drop the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test for a new test based on new standards, this is an ideal time for private schools that enroll these students to prove they’re hitting the marks Florida sets for public schools.

Scott wants to include voucher students when the new Common Core standards and tests — successors to the FCAT — debut in 2014-15.

“Ultimately, everybody is going to Common Core,” he said.

A no-brainer idea that incoming Education Commissioner Tony Bennett embraces, saying that it’s “reasonable to expect all schools that receive public funds to be held to the same level of accountability.”

Florida’s program — the nation’s largest of its kind — has followed a more convoluted path. Voucher students took a nationally normed test like the Stanford Achievement Test. An independent researcher then distilled the results and correlated the results to FCAT students. A bit of a Rube Goldberg approach that made it difficult for parents to assess academic achievement when comparing public to private schools.

Give Scott credit for realizing that a common test scraps a needless exercise, while also giving private schools an extra measure of credibility. If taxpayers are footing the bill — and if private schools truly are doing the job — schools should be eager to showcase their results, as public schools must.

Credibility becomes increasingly important, as lawmakers push to expand the program that this year provided vouchers to some 50,000 students in more than 1,300 private schools.